1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an on-line corporate education system used to manage and administer corporate training throughout an enterprise. More specifically, the invention relates to extranet-hosted software which enables the centralized or decentralized administration, tracking, delivery and reporting of on-line, off-line and just-in-time training.
2. Background
In today""s information-driven economy, economic success depends to a large degree on the education and training of the work force. Corporate spending on education has reflected thisxe2x80x94U.S. corporations are estimated to spend over $98 billion on corporate training. However, with demands for additional training has come a desire to reduce the overall cost of training.
Distance learning via the Internet promises many advantages for corporations, including the ability for busy employees to choose the location and time convenient for learning. Presently, however, it is difficult to search for courses on the Internet since they are not cataloged in a uniform fashion. Furthermore, even if they were uniformly cataloged, sifting through a potentially large number of similar courses would be an unproductive use of an employee""s time.
A second area of concern is the administrative cost of implementing Internet-based training in large organizations. The training requirements of large corporations differ across and within divisions. Division managers may require their employees to be highly specialized. The result is that similar divisions in a corporation may be taking entirely different approaches to employee training. This makes it difficult to implement a single training strategy and introduces administrative redundancy at every level of management. Furthermore, the task of assessing employees"" skill level presents similar problems. Thus, a more efficient means is needed for corporations to implement Internet-based training.